Debris from the plane struck and destroyed one house, according to Marine Lt. Col. John Ferguson, an executive officer for the Marine Aircraft Group 13 based at the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Ariz. The subsequent explosion totaled a second home and severely damaged a third.

One witness, Leonard Olmeda, was racing remote-controlled cars nearby with several neighborhood children when the plane fell from the sky.

“It was a big flash, a bunch of black smoke, like a mushroom effect,” Mr. Olmeda said.

Eleven-year-old Christopher Garcia, who was watching television with his family in his living room two blocks away, told AP that the explosion "felt like an earthquake."

The residents of eight houses were evacuated from the neighborhood during the subsequent investigation and cleanup but have since returned to their homes, according to officials